Early Life and Education
Dennis Dougherty was born in Ashland, Pennsylvania, the sixth of ten children of Patrick and Bridget (née Henry) Dougherty. His parents were natives of County Mayo, Ireland; his father worked as a coal miner. The family attended St. Joseph's Church in Girardville, where Dougherty was baptized by Father Michael A. Sheridan. He received the Sacrament of Confirmation from Archbishop James Frederick Wood.
Dougherty, nicknamed "Dinny" by his parents, attended public school in Ashland until age 10, when he transferred to high school in Girardville. He worked as a breaker boy in the local coal mines during his summer vacations. After graduating from high school in 1880, he passed the entrance examinations for St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Overbrook. However, at age 14, he was considered too young for admission, and was instead sent to Collège Sainte-Marie in Montreal, Canada. After studying there for two years, he returned to Pennsylvania and finally entered St. Charles Seminary, where he skipped the first two years of training.
In 1885, Dougherty was sent by Archbishop Patrick John Ryan to continue his studies in Rome at the Pontifical North American College and the Urban College of Propaganda, where he earned a Doctor of Sacred Theology degree in 1890.
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